Castle 2015 Ficathon 1-Shot Collection
by COBigBlueBox
Summary: My entry into the 2015 Ficathon contest. Each chapter will be a 1-shot, based on prompts from the Ficathon website. Rated M for strong language.
1. Love (and war) In An Elevator

_**(Normally, I don't do this sort of thing, but for this year's ficathon, I'll give it a whirl.**_

 _ **Prompts: Beckett confronts Castle about his behavior at the end of 47 Seconds**_

 _ **Castle confronts Beckett about what he overheard in 47 Seconds)**_

Beckett stuck her arm in the doors, keeping them from closing. Castle looked at her startled, before his mask slipped back down. "I'll ride with you," she said, getting on the lift. Castle shrugged, before reaching over to press a button. The doors slid shut, as the lift descended. Beckett glanced over at Castle. "Long day, huh?" Castle grunted. Beckett chewed on her lip for a moment, before trying again. "So, what are you gonna do over this extended weekend?"

"Write," he replied, staring at the doors.

"Any plans with Alexis?"

"No."

Beckett reached over and smacked the Emergency Stop button. The elevator shook, as it came to a sudden stop. Castle looked around, until he saw her hand on the control panel. "What the hell, Beckett?" he asked, the flash of anger across his face the first real emotion she'd seen besides his "playboy" persona all day.

"I wanna know what's bothering you, and I wanna know right now!" she said, sparks shooting from her eyes.

Castle turned back toward the doors. "Nothing," he said, his face slipping back into the impassive mask he was wearing before.

Beckett grabbed his coat and slammed him against the wall. "Stop lying to me, Castle!" she cried. "You were perfectly fine being around me until this afternoon, when you came in looking like I kicked your puppy. I'm trying to fix whatever's wrong, but I can't do it unless you tell me what's bothering you," she said, as she shoved him into the wall, "so STOP." *thud* "LYING." *thud* "TO." *thud* "ME!" *thud*

Castle's eyes turned cold, as fury filled his face. "How dare you," he hissed, putting a hand on Beckett's chest and shoving her away from him, causing Beckett to stumble into the wall on the other side of the cab. "How _dare_ you stand there and have the unmitigated gall to accuse _me_ of lying, you fucking _**hypocrite**_!"

Beckett pushed herself off the wall she had run into after Castle shoved her away, her hands balling into fists at her side. "Hypocrite?" she cried. "I'm not the one walking around, acting like a self-centered jackass, or lying to my partner, just because-"

"Bullshit!" Interrupted Castle, stabbing a finger at her. "I know for a fact you lied to me!"

"When?" asked Beckett, crossing her arms. "When did I supposedly lie to you?"

"A year ago," he said, his voice hard and cold. "You lied to my face twice a year ago. You said you'd call, and you never did. And I only found out about the second one today because of what I heard you tell Bobby Lopez."

Beckett frowned. What she told Bobby? All she said was he didn't get to use the trauma as an excuse. She was shot in the chest and she-

Oh.

 _ **Oh god**_.

"Yeah," snarled Castle, watching the comprehension and dawning terror cross her face. "That lie. Remembering it now, Beckett? Or did you conveniently forget it again?"

"Castle, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" he said, giving a laugh. "You're sorry? Sorry doesn't make up for the three months of no phone calls or anything!" he yelled. "Sorry doesn't make up for breaking my daughter's heart, as she watched her role model run off and hide! And sorry doesn't make up for leading me on for four years!" Castle sighed and slumped against the wall, swallowing hard. "If you didn't love me, all you had to do was say something. It was embarrassing enough in your hospital room," he said, voice cracking as he closed his eyes.

Beckett wiped away a stray tear that fell down her cheek at the hurt on his face. She slowly walked to him, placing a hand on his cheek. "Rick, look at me," she said. She waited until his eyes were open, and focused on her. "I'm sorry for everything that I did. I didn't feel like I was worthy of your love, not as fucked up as I was," she said, running her thumb gently across the shadows under his eye. "I'm trying to be more than her case, and the walls I lived most of my adult life behind. I wanna be someone worthy of your love. But that doesn't give you the right to start acting like the self-centered jackass you were when we first met. You're better than that, Castle."

"Not good enough not to be led around like a puppy," he said softly.

Beckett shook her head, curls dancing across the shoulders of her coat. "How do you seriously not get that I'm in love with you?" she asked. "All this time together, and you can't even see that?"

Castle lifted his head and looked at her. "Say that again," he said, as he reached out to hit the Emergency Stop button again, his face filled with hope at her words.

Beckett smiled. "How about I just show you?" she whispered, right before her lips crashed into his.

The desk sergeant looked up, hearing the ding of the arriving elevator. After the yelling in there had finally ceased, he'd called Maintenance, asking them to cancel his request to check it. By now, the whole precinct had known about the fight between Detective Beckett and her partner. As the doors slid open, he saw the couple in question locked in a passionate embrace, either not knowing or caring that the elevator had finally arrived at their stop. Shaking his head and smiling, the sergeant went back to his newspaper. _Wait till I finally get to cash in on that betting pool about these two_ , he thought to himself. _Beckett and Castle. New York better watch out._

 _ **(A/N And thus concludes Story 1 in my Ficathon 1-shot collection. Total word count, so far: 941. Story 2 to come soon. And as always, thanks & shout-outs to Linda_inDC, lousiemcdoogle, Lord of Kavaka, & Mattaweber for encouraging, editing & giving honest feedback. Thanks, guys.)**_


	2. The Hangover

_**Prompt: After Limey Castle declares that he is getting married. Kate gets drunk and goes to the loft to confront him.**_

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you," said Castle, stepping off the elevator. "I won't be in for the next week."

Beckett blinked, and tilted her head a little. "Why's that?" she asked. "Hot date with the blonde?"

"No, Beckett" said Castle, exasperation coloring his voice. "We're getting married tomorrow, and are celebrating our honeymoon in the Alps for a week."

Beckett slid into the chair, not sure her knees would support her, the venom in his words worming its way into her heart. She stared ahead, in shock. He's getting married? Oh god, I've lost him! "That's…that's great, Castle," she said, lifting her head up to look into his eyes, trying and failing to smile. "Congratulations."

"Mother and Alexis are holding gifts and flowers for us until we return," he said flippantly. "But since you've obviously been too busy with 'tall, dark and British' to even bother, I'm not expecting you to send anything."

Beckett blinked. "Busy with-Hunt's going back to London, Castle!" She exclaimed. "Didn't you hear me say that?"

"Never stopped you from convincing him otherwise," he scoffed. "I saw the way he was looking at you in that dress at the consulate party. Or the way you looked at him. Oh, crap. I gotta run," he said, looking at his watch. "Gotta pick up my tux from the tailor." He threw on his scarf and started for the elevator. "Maybe I'll see you in a week, detective."

"Castle," she called.

"What?" he snapped, turning back to her.

Beckett swallowed, all the words she wanted to say dying on her tongue. "I don't want to fight. I just...I just want you to be happy," she said. "So have a good time, and tell Jacinda I said congratulations."

Castle nodded, his expression softening slightly as the doors closed on his glare. Beckett turned back to the paperwork in front of her, but suddenly threw the pen down on top of the forms. "Fuck it," she growled, turning off her computer as she stood. She couldn't have the man she wanted anymore, so tonight, she'd visit The Old Haunt with her pals, Jack Daniels and José Cuervo.

* * *

Castle sat up on his couch, the sound of banging on his door jerking him awake from a restless slumber. He'd dropped Jacinda off at her hotel hours ago, making some excuse about needing to catch up on his book. He was fairly certain she knew he was lying, if the look on her face was anything to go by. Thankfully, she hadn't called him on it. She had just exited the car, and gone inside. He'd come home to a note from his mother and Alexis, saying they were leaving for the weekend for a spa visit, and not to call them. He'd never say it out loud, but he was grateful for some alone time, and to not have to explain to his mother and daughter just what had been going on between him and Beckett. He had sat down to write, but found himself unable to concentrate, the guilt of lying to Jacinda and using her to get back at Beckett consuming him. It had gotten so bad, that he had bypassed the usual tumbler of Scotch, and had begun drinking straight from the bottle, until he had finally passed out. His sleep had been restless, the faces of Kyra, Meredith, Gina, Jacinda and Kate all floated through his mind. As he sat there, wondering who would be knocking on his door this late, he heard a yell from the other side.

"Open up, you bleach blonde bimbo!" a familiar voice slurred out.

Castle groaned, and rubbed a hand down his face. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he muttered to himself, as he stomped over and opened the door to reveal a drunken Kate.

"Beckett, what in the hell are you doing here?" he asked, irritation coloring his voice.

Kate ignored him and shoved past him, fists at her side. "Get out here, you damn broad!" she yelled, her head whipping around to observe the room. Silence greeted her back.

She spun around to face Castle. "Where is she?" Kate asked, weaving.

"Where's who?" replied Castle, shutting the door.

"The blonde bimbo who thinks she can steal my man without a fight, that's who!" yelled Kate, as she whirled around to face the empty living room. "Goddammit, Castle, stop making the room spin!"

"No one's here except me, Beckett," he explained, clenching his fists by his side. "You're drunk, your head is spinning, so why don't you just go home and sleep it off, detective?"

"Because I'm not leaving until I show that bleach blonde Barbie doll what happens when she tries to steal my man!" cried Kate.

"You don't have a fucking man, Beckett!" yelled Castle. "You never did!"

"Yes, I did!" she shouted, as tears began to stream down her face. "He was an arrogant ass, petulant, drove me apeshit when he started insisting on working with me, and made me have to resist the urge to shoot him and think up an excuse for my captain later."

"Sounds like a real winner," scoffed Castle, folding his arms over his chest. "Maybe you were better off without him."

Kate shook her head slowly, and lifted her eyes to meet his. "But the more I got to know him, the more I realized how wrong I was. He was a gentle, sweet, caring man. He stuck his nose where it didn't belong in the beginning, but he also brought me coffee every day, built theory with me, not including some of the most outlandish things I have ever heard come forth, made my friends smile, always had a kind word for people, and always had my back when I needed it. He was more than just a partner to me. He was my best friend, and the man I fell in love with."

"Kate…" Castle started to say, but she continued on.

"I know I'm too late to stop this wedding, Rick, and I know I'm so drunk right now, that the hangover tomorrow is gonna be a killer. I don't know what I did to make you hate me so much that you can't look at me without sneering, Castle," she said quietly. "But I am so sorry."

Castle closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them. When he lifted his gaze to hers, Kate saw the pain in his expression that he had been hiding for days. "You lied to me," he said softly. "That's what. I heard you in the interrogation room with Bobby, Kate."

Kate's breath hitched, as the implication of what he said sank in. "Castle, I-"

"Don't," he interrupted, holding up a hand. "I don't wanna hear it, and I'm not gonna put you through the embarrassment of saying it." He walked over and opened the front door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's late and I have an early morning tomorrow."  
Beckett walked to the door, but paused, as she looked at Castle, misery evident on her face. "I hope you have a great life with Jacinda," she whispered. "Good bye, Rick." She walked out, head held high. But as Castle started to shut the door, he heard the first sob trail down the hall. He sighed as the door clicked shut, leaning his head against it. _God dammit._

* * *

Kate awoke the next morning with the sun in her face, a headache pounding away in her head. Groaning, she rolled over and flung an arm across her eyes, before finally getting up and heading to the door to get the newspaper. She opened the door and bent down to pick up the paper, only to be greeted by a familiar pair of shoes. Her gaze rose as she did, traveling up to the familiar face staring contritely at her. "Castle?!"

"I brought you breakfast," he said, as he held up her paper and a paper bag she missed the first time. And was that…coffee she smelled? Kate looked down, noticing the travel container he had in his other hand with two coffees in them.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, as she took the paper and bag from him to set on the counter. "Shouldn't you be celebrating your wedding day with Jacinda?" She couldn't keep the jealousy out of her voice at the name.

Castle sighed. "No," he said quietly. "Because there is no wedding. There never was."

Kate whirled around to stare at him, incredulity on her face. "You lied to me?!" she exclaimed.

"I wanted you to feel the same hurt you made me feel," said Castle. "I didn't think you loved me, so I just wanted you to hurt like I was hurting." He looked up to see Kate's face filled with anger, as her hand started swinging for him. He braced himself, waiting for the sting of the slap he was sure was coming. But instead of his cheek, he felt Kate's hand grip the back of his neck, and pull his head down to a crushing kiss. It was rough, and bruising. He winced, as he felt her bite his bottom lip, and he was sure he tasted blood. "Ow," he mumbled. Kate growled, and continued kissing him. When they finally broke the kiss, he put his fingers up to his lips. "Think you drew blood," he said.

"Good. You fucking deserve it, you dumb shit," she replied, as she reached for her coffee.

"What the hell did I do to deserve having my lip savaged like that, Beckett?" he asked.

Kate sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "I'm hung over, and I don't feel like the verbal sparring we normally do. So instead, I cut out the middleman and went for broke," she said, sipping her coffee.

Castle frowned. "You may wanna have some water, before you drink that coffee," he said. "That's not conducive to a hangover." Beckett raised a middle finger in reply, chugging her coffee as she glared at him. Castle simply shrugged and drank his own coffee. After a few minutes, Beckett set down her cup.

"Castle, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to hurt you. But you had to have known before the case with Hunt that I lied to you, if you were willing to parade Jacinda in front of me at the precinct like that. So I just wanna know: when did you find out?"

"Boylon Plaza case," he replied. "I heard what you said to Bobby Lopez."

Kate sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Jesus Christ…that was a stupid fucking mistake," she said. "I should've just told you how I feel, instead of dragging that out."

"So why didn't you?"

"Because I wanted to be better than I was," she replied. "I wanted to be someone who could love you back, who was worthy of that love, and could say those words to you without feeling like I was letting my mom down."

"You could've just told me that, instead of lying to me a year ago, you know," he said.

"Yeah, and you could've told me you heard me, rather than parade a bleach-blonde Barbie kit at my goddamn crime scene like some immature jock."

Castle sighed. "So we both fucked up big time," he said. "How about this? No more lies, we be honest with each other. You show me yours; I'll show you mine. Okay?"

Kate nodded, and stepped in close, as her arms banded around him and pulled him in close, her head leaning against his shoulder. "In that case, let me say this with great honesty: I am hung over as fuck, my head feels like a blacksmith's anvil churning out weapons for a war, and I am about to throw up on your shoes."

"I told you not to chug that coffee before you had water," he smirked.

"Shove it up your ass, Castle."

"Come on, Kate," he said, as he began to lead her to the bathroom. "I'll hold your hair while you throw up, and then I'll show you my sure fire way to cure a hangover."

Beckett scoffed. "I don't think sex is a cure for a hangover," she said.

"You'd be surprised," he replied. "Sex can cure a lot of stuff, including wounded pride."

* * *

"Well, you were right, Castle. It really is a hangover cure. Now if it only did something about your ego…"


	3. Interrogation

**_Prompt: After saving his butt during the Slaughter/drug gang showdown, Ryan and Esposito drag Castle into an interrogation room to figure out what the hell is going on. What neither of them know is that while the spilling of the guts is going on, Kate is on the other side of the glass._**

( **A/N Thank you, everyone, for the positive reviews, favorites and follows from the last chapter. I'm glad you're all enjoying these.**

 **To the guest reviewer: I am aware that most T-rated fics use strong language. However, being a parent myself, I don't want my kid exposed to it, if I can avoid it. That's why I'm rating this M: so that parents have the option of allowing their kids to read it, or not. I know kids get that eventually. Doesn't mean I need to contribute to the corruption of minors.)**

Esposito slammed the door open, and roughly pushed Castle inside. "Have a seat, Mr. Castle," he said, his voice brooking no room for argument.

Castle turned around, to see Ryan slamming the door, his eyes cold as chips of ice. "Uh, you guys do know that my partner is waiting out there for me, right?" he asked.

"No, he's not," replied Ryan, as he slammed down the stack of files he was holding. "Slaughter is on his way back to his own precinct, with only a lecture from Gates if he's lucky. Your partner, on the other hand, is moping in the conference  
room, putting together paperwork for the case she has to testify in, and wondering what she did to make you so mad. And quite honestly, we're wondering the same goddamn thing."

"Oh, I get it now," said Castle, fake nonchalance in his voice as he sat down. "You guys are feeling hurt. Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out between your mother and I, but sometimes, couples grow apart. We'll still see each other every  
other weekend-"

" **GODDAMMIT** , Castle!" cried Esposito, slamming his hands down on the table and launching halfway across. "Our girl is out there hurting, wondering what she did to make you so mad at her!"

"At least she's alive to hurt!" yelled Castle, repeating Esposito's position. "And it's no more than she deserves!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"…shit," muttered Castle, as he sank back into his chair. "Forget it. I need to get out of here, catch up with Slaughter."

Esposito turned to Ryan. "You know, Detective Ryan, I do believe we have Mr. Castle here on several charges, don't we?"

"I do believe you're right, Detective Esposito," Ryan replied, opening the file. "Let's see…disorderly conduct, assault, public intoxication, destruction of property…"

"You gotta be shitting me," said Castle. "Public intoxication?! I didn't even drink in that bar!"

"How long do you think we can hold him?" asked Ryan, ignoring Castle.

"Oh, no more than 24-48 hours," replied Esposito. "More than enough enough time for Lanie to pay him a visit. Maybe Jenny, if she's inclined."

"That's blackmail," said Castle, glaring at the men.

"Tell us what's going on, and we'll dismiss the charges," replied Ryan. "Or you can go to a holding cell and get fucked over by Jenny and Lanie."

Castle glared at them, before sighing, as his shoulders slumped. He seemed to age before their eyes. "What do you wanna know?" he asked quietly.

"What's going on with you and Beckett?"

"And what did you mean by that statement?"

"After Beckett was shot at Montgomery's funeral, I received a call from a man," said Castle. "This man called himself Smith, and said he had a file that Montgomery had sent him before he was killed. This file incriminates the people behind  
all this, but it didn't arrive until after she was shot. This Smith said he was continuing a deal that Montgomery made with these people."

"What deal?" asked Ryan, leaning in.

"The deal was, Beckett stops investigating her mother's murder, and the people involved don't try to kill her. If they try, Smith releases this file to the press. And a lot of very powerful people go down, very fast."

Esposito whistled. "Man, no wonder they're backing off. But bro," he said, leaning forward as he folded his hands on the table, "you know Beckett will kill you if she finds out you've been sitting on this lead."

"Maybe you didn't hear me," replied Castle. "The deal was if _Beckett_ stops investigating her mother's murder, they back off."

"Yeah, we heard," said Ryan. Castle simply stated at them, until Ryan's eyes suddenly widened. "You can't be serious!"

"She deserves closure," said Castle.

"Are you fucking insane?! Jesus Christ, Castle, you know what they'll do to you if they find out?!"

"I don't care."

"Or Alexis? What about her, or your mother? You wanna put them through that?!" Ryan cried, as he slammed his hands down on the table.

"They'd be doing me a kindness!" cried Castle.

"What are you talking about?" asked Esposito.

Castle closed his eyes. "When Beckett lay dying on that cemetery grass, I begged her not to die. I begged her to stay with me. And I told her…I love her."

"Holy shit," breathed Esposito. "What happened, bro?"

"I went to her hospital room after her surgery, and she told me she didn't remember anything that happened after she was shot. And like a damn fool, I believed her for an entire year."

"What happened?"

"Two weeks ago, I heard her tell Bobby Lopez from the Boylan Plaza bombing case that she remembered every second of her shooting. Every second of it," explains Castle, his voice breaking.

"Castle-"

"She could tell the truth to a suspect in the case, but she couldn't tell me," he continued. "And the only reason I can think of is because she doesn't love me, and never will."

"Is that why you decided to follow Slaughter around?" asked Ryan.

Castle nodded. "I wanted to get over her, so I started following someone else. I'm sorry you guys got caught in the crossfire, but it wasn't-" Castle looked up as the interrogation room door slammed open, revealing a fuming Beckett,  
whose bloodshot eyes were glaring daggers at him. The surprised look on his face quickly disappeared, to be replaced by a stony glare.

"Espo, Ryan, can you guys give us a minute?" she asked. She waited until they were out, before slamming the door and turning to Castle. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Sitting here, getting read the riot act by the boys," he replied. "What, are you taking turns? Is Gates coming in? Good God, please tell me she's not," he continued, a look of faux horror crossing his face. "If she is, remind  
her my safe word is 'apples', okay?"

"Cut the shit, Castle," she snapped, as she sat down across from him. "You've been going off the rails for over a week. I heard what you told the boys. What in the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking," he said. "I was-"

"You're goddamn right you weren't thinking!" Kate interrupted. "You call yourself my partner, but you sat on a lead I could have used for a year, Castle! What were you thinking, huh? That you were my knight in shining armor? You'd  
slay the dragon, and I'd fall swooning into your arms?"

Castle slammed his hands down on the table, as he suddenly surged over the table into her face. " ** _I DID IT TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS_**!" he yelled.

" ** _I DON'T NEED SAVING_**!" she yelled back. "I needed a lead!"

"That bullet missed your heart by a centimeter, Beckett!" he cried. "You flatlined twice before they managed to stabilize you! So don't sit there on your fucking high horse, and tell me you don't need saving!"

"Don't you tell me what I do and don't need! _You_ made the decision for me, that I didn't need this lead," she said, poking him in thechest. " _You_ did, Castle! So you're in no position to say anything!"

Castle stood up. "I'm done," he said, as he walked toward the door.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Beckett asked, as she turned around. "We're not through!"

"I am," he replied. "I need to get back to the 15th. My _partner's_ waiting for me."

"Castle, wait," she said, as she stood up and grabbed his arm.

Castle's shoulders slumped. "What do you want from me, Beckett?" he asked, his back to her. "You lied to me for a year, you lead me around like a lost puppy, and anytime I try to move on, you keep trying to pull me back."

Kate pulled on his arm, until he finally turned around to face her. "I want you to stay," she said. "I want my partner back. I want the coffee that only tastes right when you bring it, I want the ridiculous theories that make me laugh  
behind my hand, I want the man who makes my boss have to take Excedrin daily to hold off the migraine he gives her. I want you, Castle."

"I want to believe that, Beckett," he said. "I really do. But I'm not sure I can."

"What do you want me to do? Let you have your way with me in the supply closet?"

"Well, I was thinking more along the lines of this table," he replied, pushing on the table.

Kate looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."

Castle stared incredulously. "Wait. Are you serious, or just being facetious?"

"If it proves to you how much I love you and want you to stay, then yes. Let's have sex on the interrogation room table."

Castle stared at her for a second, before swiftly starting to unbutton his shirt. Kate held up a finger, walked over to the mirror, and rapped on it. "Leave, or your asses are doing paperwork for a week," she said.

"Beckett, I seriously doubt they're-" Castle paused, as he heard the faint sound of the observation room door slamming. "Son of a bitch! When I get out of here, those two are-"

"Castle," she said, as she pushed him onto the table. "You have the right to remain silent. For once in your life, exercise it."

"Will anything be held against me?" he asked with a cheeky grin, as she climbed up on top of him.

"Yes," she whispered, sealing her mouth over his. "Me."


End file.
